The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a diverse group of 127 alternative news organizations covering every major metropolitan area and other less-populated regions of North America. The 127 publications that currently make up the association publish in 42 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, and in four Canadian provinces. What ties the publications together are a strong focus on local news, culture and the arts; an informal and sometimes profane style; an emphasis on point-of-view reporting and narrative journalism; a tolerance for individual freedoms and social differences; and an eagerness to report on issues and communities that many mainstream media outlets ignore.